A short story from a wild branding job.
Recently a friend called me and said: Hey Pete, an old friend of mine has bought a bankrupt sewing shop, there are no customers and we've come up with the idea of starting our own streetwear brand. We need to act as quickly as possible. You have time, don't you?
I replied yes, of course :)
As it soon turned out, I had to start from scratch because they didn't even have an idea for a name.
I could only dream of a standard brief, so first I had to conduct an interview and find out everything that could be useful. I started by defining the target audience and the range of products he wanted to make and sell. He said, “Something unusual that would appeal to skaters or bikers, especially hoodies and T-shirts, because that's what we stock now, but if the idea takes off, I'd like to expand next year. I like cats, so maybe something with a cat in the name..." That was all I had. Yeah...!!! After a few tries with - not very good - brands like "Naughty Cat" (too corny), "Stray" (cool, but used in a recent video game), etc. We agreed to meet again to discuss what we had. Right at the beginning, our video call was interrupted by his cat climbing on his laptop and doing weird things like licking the screen or sticking its tail in the camera) He said, "Sorry about the cat, her name is Luna and she's our beloved crazy girl." And that's when it hit me like a ton of bricks!
As it soon turned out, I had to start from scratch because they didn't even have an idea for a name.
I could only dream of a standard brief, so first I had to conduct an interview and find out everything that could be useful. I started by defining the target audience and the range of products he wanted to make and sell. He said, “Something unusual that would appeal to skaters or bikers, especially hoodies and T-shirts, because that's what we stock now, but if the idea takes off, I'd like to expand next year. I like cats, so maybe something with a cat in the name..." That was all I had. Yeah...!!! After a few tries with - not very good - brands like "Naughty Cat" (too corny), "Stray" (cool, but used in a recent video game), etc. We agreed to meet again to discuss what we had. Right at the beginning, our video call was interrupted by his cat climbing on his laptop and doing weird things like licking the screen or sticking its tail in the camera) He said, "Sorry about the cat, her name is Luna and she's our beloved crazy girl." And that's when it hit me like a ton of bricks!
LUNA-TIC!
This silly situation brought us to the point and after hours of brainstorming about the right brand name, I came up with "Lunatic", which I immediately liked and which my customer in particular fell in love with. One minute I was still knee-deep in mud, the next I had a name ready and accepted.
DEFENSE OF AN INVENTED NAME
(I used AI to defend the name! it turned out quite well )
(I used AI to defend the name! it turned out quite well )
the name "Lunatic" as a streetwear brand has a bold, edgy vibe with a touch of rebellion. It conveys a sense of unpredictability and uniqueness and reflects the eclectic nature of streetwear. The word "lunatic" suggests a departure from the ordinary and stands for eccentricity and individuality. In streetwear, it could symbolize breaking out of social norms and expressing yourself authentically through your style. The brand could offer avant-garde designs, bold graphics and unconventional pieces that appeal to those who embrace their inner "lunatic" and dare to stand out from the crowd.
LOGOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
With this particular project, luck was on my side right from the start - no doubt thanks to the cats and their ancient superpowers ;) While doodling and sketching the logo, I came up with the idea of using a silly, smelly cat as a key visual element that could be useful in the future. The cat has to sit somewhere, so it was obvious to put it on a stable, flat surface. The only letter that had room for it was the letter "T". So I lengthened the "T", lowered the "A" and the "I", and slipped the "U" over the leg of the "L" to balance out the changes evenly.
note: I was lucky one more time because the Key Visual mascot cat had to make way for something more dramatic later, but I was left with some nicely reworked letters!!!
note: I was lucky one more time because the Key Visual mascot cat had to make way for something more dramatic later, but I was left with some nicely reworked letters!!!
For the color palette, I chose a range of bright colors reminiscent of 80's ski overalls, such as bubblegum pink, baby blue, electric purple and bright orange. To put out the "Miami" fire, I chose a cooler teal color that makes a good base.
The next step was to find something that resonated with the brand itself. My client didn't want a key visual, but I knew that KV was very useful, especially when the product is streetwear apparel, where in some cases the lettering is not enough or too "chunky" for a small spot. I grew up in the 80s and 90s when skateboarding was in its heyday. Skateboarding brands usually had brilliant and super creative ideas for their graphics. But for the KVs, Spitfire had their flaming dude, Bones had a skull and bones and Santa Cruz had the legendary screaming hand. I had to come up with something cool that somehow related to the brand name or the brand's mission. That's how I came up with this idea.
My client chose the "Lunatic Foot" as the main KV without hesitation. The graphic fits the target group and brand perception, is cool enough and importantly, unique! Nowadays it's not easy to make something unique, in this case in a world where every second t-shirt is printed with skulls and skeletons.
Now it was time to put my KV to the test. For this assignment, I decided to see how it would perform as a graphic element alongside the logotype.
and as a one of many graphic elements on 1:1 aspect ratio Instagram ad.
In my opinion, it looks pretty good. The only problem is the impression of the two L's in the horizontal version. The Lunatic foot brings life to the blocky lettering of a logo, distorts the composition in a lunatic way and opens up whole new possibilities for further creations.
When that part was done, I had to go back and put the lettering back on the workbench. I had to concentrate on the things I needed to create. The basic lettering was done, but I had to activate my gray matter to turn these simple letters into something crazier. The ideas were varied: salamander letters, bumper sticker style, rainbow letters, etc.
Yes, I know... nothing special. I'm sure some of it will be useful, but I wanted more. I thought about giving it more depth, so I started adding shading and outlining and playing with depth. After a while I came up with the idea of using isometrics and that was it!
Just two colors and a bold statement! Now it's time to make a few product visualizations to see how it looks on T-shirts.
and finally, let's see how it performs as Instagram or half page magazine ads.
I hope you enjoyed this little case study! If so, hit the "like" button below to get my dopamine levels soaring! If you have any tips on what could be done better, I'd love for you to leave a comment! Namaste! Peter
